IIT Gandhinagar: No motive found yet behind research scholar’s alleged suicide, say police

According to the police, college authorities had discovered Ghosh’s body on the morning of July 6, after one of her peer scholars had received no response on knocking at her room’s door. College authorities had then alerted the police. Although no note was found in her room, the police said some scribblings were found on the wall, including the phrase “I Quit,” which they believe may shed some light on her mental state on the days leading to the discovery of her body.

“The post mortem report of the victim has revealed the reason of death to be hanging. As of now, we have filed an accidental death report in the case, but our probe is on,” said MS Solanki, Sub-Inspector at Chiloda police station and investigating officer in the case.

Ghosh had been at IIT Gandhinagar since 2015 when she had come to Gujarat to pursue her PhD after having pursued BTech and MTech from Kolkata University. She is survived by her husband who lives in the US and her parents who are based in Bardhaman of West Bengal.

“Till now, we have recorded the statements of her friends, people from her study group, her hostel mates and faculty. We have not found anything amiss on the academic front, so we are also probing her personal life. Her body was cremated on July 7 by her father-in-law who flew to Ahmedabad,” said Solanki.

In response to the incident, IIT Gandhinagar said in a statement, “The incident is currently under investigation by police and the institute is committed to fully cooperating with them. We are unable to release any information or comments while the investigation is underway” further adding that the IIT Gandhinagar community is deeply saddened by the death of the PhD scholar.